Community Chat

[Daisy Sunflower]

As I had mentioned, it's strange that no family members were with their dad when he was getting ready to move out of the house and needed help with sorting everything. They mentioned that an "organizer" helped him. Very vague.

[Mz iMac]

And she ONLY posted on Craiglist.

If these things were so precious to be "handed down" through generations, why not seek the help of their "local news" stations, local newspapers (yes folks still read them) as well as God forbid, FB to locate these items.

I swear these type of sob stories float around every xmas w/more holes than Swiss cheese.  Same rehashed stories.  Just the names, places & items changes.

Xmas eve the "items" are found.   Families calling it a Xmas miracle.

[golding76]

I think this story is genuine -- just a gut feeling.

As for "local" newspapers, the newspaper that featured this story, The Washington Post,  is considered local in many respects in our region.  The newspaper goes all over the D.C. Metro area (Maryland, Viginia and, of course, D.C.)  The reporter picked up the story from Craigslist, but I do not think the daughter and son would have participated in this article if this story is, in fact, a falsehood.

One other thing.  It has become popular in our area for downsizers to use a professional (an outsider) who specializes in organizing and dispensing of belongings, wherever they might go.  In fact, there was a feature story on this in the Post not too long ago.  The father is now 64 years old, and I don't know if you are that age, but when I was 64 I was a rip-roaring top producer at work and still full of energy and ideas.  Also, very much capable of handling a huge personal chore as well as a full-time, demanding job. 

So, I think the father, perhaps feeling entirely capable of handling the downsizing job on his own and wanting to spare his children from taking time off from their lives or work, decided to do this on his own.

I would have probably done the same at his age.

ETA: [I still think, like others, that it would have been best if one of the man's children had been present for the removal of all items from the home.]

[Daisy Sunflower]

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@golding76 wrote:

Daisy,

The family did speak to employees at the thrift shop (see captured quote below), but maybe there is a different crew working there now.  Someone from the past has to have been present when those ornaments were dropped off and is still there, though.

"The family has talked to employees at the shop, and the ornaments, of course, are no longer there."

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@golding76

I meant if any of the employees had actually seen those specific ornaments. It's different if the store just said they had ornaments for sale, but they're all gone now.

[GCR18]

I guess the father being 64 puts a different spin on it.  I assumed he was say 20 years older.  It sounds odd the father downsizing with an organizer versus his children.  Who knows, it's their business.

That is horrible though giving away something by mistake.  It actually happened to me years ago.  My godmother have me a special necklace.  I left it in something I donated to Salvation Army.  When I couldn't find it, I knew it went there.  I went there, they had no clue.  Said most donations were taken elsewhere to be sold in different stores.